Going into "The Real Me," my expectations were actually pretty high, as this is Future's first studio album in over four years. After hearing Andre 3000's intro on "No Misery," it would have been nice to see Future reflect on his influence and his behind the scenes throughout the album. This could have been a great album where Future reflects on his legacy. Instead, I really just feel like a good handful of these songs are just from his "MIXTAPE PLUTO" era, as a lot of the beats remind me of the mixtape. The strongest aspect of this album is undoubtedly the atmosphere. Dark sinister synths and moody melodies help enhance an engaging backdrop. Songs like "Snow in Skyami," "Radio," "Off the Hinge," and "If I Could" feature some of my favorite instrumentals. But besides these tracks and a few others, "The Real Me" quite never develops its own identity for me. Future's performances are inconsistent. There are songs that remind you that he's like that, but on a lot of songs I couldn't help but just feel like the deliveries are recycled from songs I've heard from "MIXTAPE PLUTO," and his feature run the last two or three years. His adlibs on several of tracks were way too quiet and if they were louder, they would have provided much needed energy to the songs. Lyrically, this album disappointed me the most. With an album named "The Real Me," Future actually rarely seems to dive into personal topics/struggles. He barely shifts from the topics of drugs, money, and girls. There's very little here to digest. "If I Could" is the lyrical standout for me, and I wish Future took a lot more songs the same direction as this song. There are highlights on the album. For example, notable songs are "Off the Hinge," "California Girls," "Money Over Everything," and "Konnichiwa." At the same time, songs such as "Build a Bitch," "Feeling I Give," "Alice," and "Weight Up" drag the project down considerably, with "Build a Bitch" being one of the worst Future songs released ever. Ultimately, "The Real Me" doesn't necessarily go straight to the garbage, but it is indeed far from what I hoped Future would deliver after a four year wait between solo albums. Production helps provide flashes of greatness. Repetitive flows, underwhelming lyricism, and an underdeveloped concept prevent this album from having a lasting impression for me. I know Future is able to craft a cohesive, memorable project, but this just was not it. This feels like a missed opportunity for Future.
https://t.co/h23R2r2Ubj
xperiment by Ken Carson
Rating: 6/10
After several listens, xperiment has me feeling conflicted. There are enough enjoyable moments to revisit the project, but it doesn’t really feel like it makes a push in terms of creativity for Ken Carson’s discography. In terms of production, I kind of felt mixed on it. I want to say that A Great Chaos and More Chaos have better production, but then again, the highs on xperiment in terms of the production shine brighter than More Chaos’ highs and can even compete with his magnus opus A Great Chaos’ highs. Obviously, I did not expect Ken Carson to fully experiment with new sounds at this point in his career, though that definitely would be interesting to hear. There is a run of tracks on this album that are great and actually make you think this album is better than what it is, but then you hear the weaker tracks and are brought back to reality. For an album titled xperiment, an average listener of Ken Carson definitely expects this to sound different than his previous work, but Carson doesn’t take that lane but instead shows that he has perfected his craft and sticks to usual flows, deliveries, and lyrics. This is not an innovation for his discography. This isn’t to say this album is bad, because it isn’t by any means. I, in fact, find it very enjoyable. There are several songs I see myself coming back to often, and Ken Carson’s cadence and charisma remain intact throughout most of its runtime. A lot of people were hoping he would take an artistic leap with xperiment, but I think him not taking that leap is what he should’ve done. xperiment is a solid, fun listen that has flashes of artistic creativity, but I just don’t see this album being an album people will look back on and think that this was a revolutionary album. It’s an enjoyable listen, yet it leaves me wanting more from an artist who has already proven himself in the industry.
https://t.co/h23R2r2Ubj